Maxtor support conundrum

Note to Maxtor: Designing return and warranty support is just as important as designing the product itself. Here's the story. I've got a new 300 GB Maxtor 3in1 network storage drive that my network can't find. I've done all the usual things such as disabling my firewall and my network still can't find it. I've concluded the drive is faulty because I can't shut it off without pulling the plug. The instructions say press the off/on button for five seconds and it should power down, but it doesn't.

So I ventured onto Maxtor's Warranty Services web page to generate an RMA number. My intent was to swap the malfunctioning unit for a healthy one. After all, I want to back up the thousands of digital photos I've taken. Everything was fine until Maxtor insisted I generate a diagnostic code by running, yes, you guessed it, diagnostics on the drive. But how would I do that if I can't find the drive on my network? For sure, Maxtor doesn't want folks sending in functioning drives that were not installed properly, but I am pretty savvy about such things. It worked initially and doesn't now. This leaves me with no other option than to call Maxtor support which opens in 10 minutes. That it took 15 minutes to find the support number didn't irritate me at all. NOT.

Stay tuned. If it's me, I'll eat crow. If it's Maxtor's fault, I'll do what I do best - yell and scream. BTW, I bought the drive from Amazon, whose customer service is usually unbeatable. It's advice? Call Maxtor.